Aaron Aiken

Satisfied We Are Not — And That’s Ok

I am rarely satisfied. And if you are anything like me, you’re rarely satisfied, too. There is always something that could be better, always some way to improve upon what I have just completed. “Maybe there is a way to make it more simple, and less complex” is a question that I will keep in-front of me over the next decade. Which is the exact opposite of what I have asked in the last decade (“How can I make this more complicated?”).

Task Management Software (I’m Not Satisfied)

A good example of this in my life is task managers (if you don’t know what that is, per se, think software that helps to manage todos, the things that you want to get done). Ever since my first Mac (a late 2008 white MacBook) it seems I have been on a never ending search for “the solution” to manage all of the little empty squares swimming around my mind looking for check-marks.

Prior to my first Mac, I managed tasks and things to remember the way everyone else in the world did (or so I thought): on paper. It was a simple solution, but it worked. If I had something to remember, I wrote it down. When I completed that thing or no longer needed it, I crossed it out. Next line, next thing.

No tags, perspectives, views, contexts, folders, projects, sub-projects, sub-sub-projects, areas of responsibilities, or any other piece of data to manage. Just the paper. The most complicated this rudimentary system of paper got was when it came to selecting my pen for the day. Other than that, it was a world of possibility all because of the blank page.

But then I got a Mac. And everything I read said that the way I was managing tasks was how they managed tasks in the stone age. Everything I read said to try this new software. So I did. What I didn’t know, at the time, is that I had just entered a rabbit hole.

2008–2015: My Journey With Task Management Software (where not being satisfied is abundantly clear)

The Hit List
Remember The Milk
Things
Back to The Hit List
Clear
Back to Things
Back to Clear
OmniFocus
Back to Clear
Back to Things
Back to OmniFocus
Back to paper…
Back to OmniFocus
Back to Clear
TaskPaper

Complicated Does Not Work For Long (especially when trying to become satisfied)

Something clicked in January of this year. My life felt more complicated simply because I felt I had so many things to do. And I thought I had so many things to do because I had big and powerful software to make me think that I had so many things to do. I had software that could help me break simple tasks into sub-tasks to make the simple task even more “simple”. So instead of tracking that one thing I had to do, and getting it done, I was tracking the 20 things that I had to get done so that I could get that one thing done. Because I had such powerful software. This seemed normal.

Turns out it was crazy. My mind was numb. And I was tired.

So I went back to paper. Now, granted, it is a “system” that I am using, but the system is based on a blank page in a notebook full of pages (it is called Bullet Journal, if you are curious). Bullet Journal is not the focus of this post, but the eventual result of Bullet Journal is.

Back in 2008 something told me to begin looking at my paper system of tracking tasks and to become dissatisfied. To want more. That I deserved more from my task management system. That this silly piece of paper was not the answer to life’s most difficult questions. That I didn’t have the right to think about those questions, I was too small of a person in the bigger picture. I should leave that type of thinking to other people. Bigger people. Software developers.

But as it turns out, just like I don’t have the answers, neither do they. The systems they have built are great for them, maybe, and at a minimum have enabled them to build their own businesses and remain in control of their own lives (which is incredibly awesome!). That is good for them and I’m happy for their success in such a crowded market. Not only do they not have the answers, though, they don’t know how I think. Only I know how I think. And only I know what is going to work for me and what isn’t going to work for me.

We Must Try (And Become Satisfied)

And I think a part of the last 8 years was me determining what really works for me. And determining why. I have to try things in order to know why I like them or don’t like them. Without making that conscious effort, to try things, my preferences are on the surface only. They are light. And Certainly will not hold up to any type of challenge.

But, back to my task manager example, since I have “gone through he ringer” and survived long enough to come out on the other side, I now know with certainty why I prefer to manage my tasks with pen and paper and why trying to do so with software will lead to disaster.

I wouldn’t know unless I tried.

And for me and you, the unsatisfied-always-looking-always-trying-to-improve individual, we have to try. We will not be satisfied unless we do so.

What drives us is not knowing. Maybe there is a better way to do this thing. And so off we go, looking for that magical way. We learn things along the way. Become experts here, and opinion-makers there. And we eventually reach the destination of our conclusion, and can look back at our journey and say that it was a complete success because of what we tried, learned, and now know about ourselves.

And so we come full circle, if you have made it this far, back to the beginning and being unsatisfied. Is it ok to be unsatisfied? Yes. Why? Because the trial and error is how we learn. Is it ok to be satisfied? Yes. When? After you are finished trying things and once you have completed enough to know what makes you satisfied about whatever it is you want to be satisfied about.

Keep trying. Keep doing. And be satisfied.

Connect Deeper

If you like what you see here then you’ll definitely like what I have at my website, http://aaronaiken.me. Not only is there more content like this but you can sign-up for my free newsletter to receive new posts via email, plus subscriber only content sent to you once a week and only available in the newsletter. I look forward to connecting deeper!

7 Awesome and Productive Things To Do When You Are Sick

7 Productive Things To Do When You Have the Flu

It happens to all of us at some point. We get sick. So sick that we can’t do anything else for a few days. Rendered useless to the world, our family, our work, and ourselves. This was me just a few short days ago. And was miserable. I caught, and held onto longer than I would have liked, the flu.

I’m someone who thrives on movement and on making progress towards goals. When I’m sick I feel as though all movement stops and I’m set back in any progress I’ve made up to that point, in projects I’m working on and as a human. My mind becomes what I would consider “unhinged.” While all of that is most likely false and is a dirty trick my mind plays on me to make me feel even worse, I didn’t let being sick keep me from writing. While I was sick I wrote out the following seven productive things you should do when you have the flu.

7 Productive Things You Should Do When You Have the Flu

1. Sleep

Lack of sleep is probably one of the main reasons I got stuck with the flu in the first place, and is probably why I may get sick in the future (lack of sleep will not give you the strong immune system you need to fight back nasty things like the flu). Sleep is when our bodies are given time to rejuvenate, refuel, and stock up on what is needed to keep us healthy and protected from germs and other annoying things. Without enough sleep we deprive our bodies of the rest needed in order to stay healthy. I’ve been sleeping as much as I can and recommend you do the same next time you are sick.

2. Drink Water

Lack of water is probably another reason I caught the flu, so with clearer hindsight I’m taking time while I’m sick to drink as much water as possible. It is recommended for adults to drink 8 glasses of water each day. Why? Our bodies need water. Plain and simple. It goes places in our bodies to rejuvenate specific functions, and also aids in flushing out toxins that otherwise would linger and lead to sickness. When you are sick, increase your water intake and make it a goal to increase your daily intake when you are back on your feet again.

3. Stay Home

I know without any doubt that I caught the lovely strand of flu from one of my many colleagues at work who think they are proving something to show up to work sick, just after being sick, or knowing they are on the verge of full-on sickness. A few will even work through with a fever.

When you are sick, don’t be that person. Do the world a favor…too dramatic? Ok, well, do your colleagues, your family, and yourself a favor, and stay home when you are sick. You don’t need to work. Work can wait. This applies even if you work from home. The idea behind staying home is to limit the exposure your already weak immune system has to other germs floating around out there with other humans who you would most likely come in contact with if you left your house.

Stay home. Shuffle around in your house slippers. Let your hair look unkempt. And stare outside every once in a while, wondering what it would be like to be a bird (I may or may not have don’t this while sick…like I said earlier, being sick does strange things to my mind).

4. Watch House of Cards

Since you’ll be at home (you will stay home, right?) and there is a good chance you are one of the 75 million people with a Netflix subscription, allow yourself time to watch more TV than you normally would when you are healthy. TV is one of those things where it stimulates your mind enough to keep you awake, but that’s about it. You don’t actually have to feel awake to watch TV, especially when you are sick. You are resting your body, laying immobile for an hour here, an hour there, and so on. I used my most recent stint of being sick to catch up on Season 3 of House of Cards so that I could get closer to watching the newly released season 4. I didn’t finish season 3, but I am closer.

Maybe House of Cards isn’t what you enjoy, which is fine (I won’t tell President Underwood). Pick something you like. Binge, and don’t feel guilty about it. Your body will use the awake yet immobile time to fight what it needs to fight. Oh, and an added bonus to watching TV is that you will most likely be awake and able to get ahead of the game on your water/fluid intake.

5. Read

Similar to watching TV, for the benefits of laying immobile for an extended period of time while keeping up with water/fluid intake, is reading. Not that you want to look at it this way, but I certainly did: being sick gave me the time I typically only have when on our annual family trip to the beach to sit down and read for long stretches. Had I not gotten healthy so soon I may have finished the Grisham novel I am currently working through! Alas, I did not get a chance to finish it, but I certainly had plenty of time to sit and read while drinking enough water to quench the thirst of a camel arriving home from a desert journey.

6. Sleep Some More

Nap a lot. Between TV, reading, getting more water to drink, and starring outside wondering what it must be like to be a bird, you’ll be busy being sick. But you need your rest. Sleep, as mentioned in number 1 above, is the best thing you can do for your body. Once noon hits, and you’ve chewed-up some dry toast, lay down for an afternoon siesta. You’ve always wanted to (maybe) so now is your chance. Sleep for a few hours. Do not set an alarm. And just sleep.

7. Eat

I can’t leave this one out, even though I almost did. Eating when you are sick is a tricky thing. The context of this post is the flu, so eating is simple to write about. If you have a stomach bug, I can’t necessarily say what I’m going to write here will help or apply to what you are battling (but I do know what you are doing through…hang in there). If you have the flu or a cold, all six steps above are wonderful, but they don’t do much if your body is low on fuel to fight while you are sleeping, watching House of Cards, and reading. You must eat.

Despite having little to no appetite, you need to keep something in your stomach to help your body help you beat this flu thing back to where it came from! Eggs for breakfast, toast/crackers and/or chicken noodle soup for lunch, and probably another bowl of soup for dinner is what I did. And it seemed to work out well. My body was never running entirely on E, and what I ate had nutrients available for my body to use during the flu battle.

There you have it. My list of 7 productive things to do when you have the flu. I can’t guarantee that it will speed up recovery, or keep you from getting sick in the future, but I can say, from experience, that it will help you not feel as terrible when you feel like feeling terrible the most.

How would you modify this list? Care to share in the comments?

Photo Credit: Krista Mangulsone